


Miscommunications

by AlabasterMoonbeam



Series: Plus Size Sara Ryder [2]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Early Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Inching toward sexy times, Jaal is an idiot, Literature nerd alert, Miscommunication, Pre-Relationship, Sara is a little too raw, plus size
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 13:02:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10742235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlabasterMoonbeam/pseuds/AlabasterMoonbeam
Summary: In which Sara and Jaal try to talk about what happened on the Nexus but end up with misunderstandings instead.  Jaal gets a talking to from Liam, Sara reads up on bioelectricity, and the pair of them try again.





	Miscommunications

**Author's Note:**

> A few things:  
> 1\. My Sara Ryder is definitely plus sized. It's ok if yours isn't. I love the idea of her struggling with accepting her weight and her new role as Pathfinder, which is part of what is being explored here.  
> 2\. You get to use your definition of plus sized. Mine is bigger, yours might be smaller or even bigger than mine. That is a-ok. Since this is a fictional character, leading a fictional life, which I am basically writing myself into, I'm not too worried about whether or not there was room/purpose for tea in space (or creamer or sugar). If it throws you off, try thinking of it as the cheater terms for the substitutes the Initiative would have brought.  
> 3\. My Ryder is about 30. I am about 30. I am writing me. If it reads well for you at a different age, I hope that works. As far as it not being canon...um see comment about me writing me. :D
> 
> 4\. YOU ALL ARE SUPERSONIC ROCKSTARS! I am LOVING the comments and critiques that I am getting, keep it up!
> 
> p.s. Upcoming is the whole "Is this for my benefit, cuz I am definitely benefiting," conversation in the next installment (not this one)!
> 
> Yay, thanks!

Looking up as Sara walked in, Jaal couldn’t help but grin and bask in her existence. The weapon he had thrown across the techlab earlier was in front of him, tools spread around, music playing quietly in the background. He had spent more time than he wanted to admit arranging the lab to look welcoming. His jealousy having been tamed for the time being, Jaal looked at his list, the growing number of Things He Knew about Ryder. About...Sara. Increasingly, as he thought about the Pathfinder, he referred to her in his thoughts and emails to his True Mother as Sara. No longer was she defined by her title, nor by her last name. Now she was coming in, coming to spend time with him, intentionally and by his own invitation. She looked tired, diminished after the day, but in her hands was a small tool case and the Sidewinder pistol she had been favoring lately. With a look of curious gratitude she sat down, and began to work.

Sara wasn’t sure what to expect. Jaal had seemed so angry, so disgusted with her and the organization she represented that she was surprised when he asked her to come by the techlab to work on weapons. She was glad - relieved, really, because she was concerned about him. Setting down her work, she tried to think of a way to ask him how he was, after dealing with Tann. The salarian’s reception and attitude had been a bureaucratic nightmare for Sara, despite SAM being in her head and explaining how to navigate that particular minefield. He had been there for her with Addison, too. The struggle for Sara wasn’t that Addison “hated” her or that Tann looked down on her. It was that, as SAM was increasingly pointing out to her, their perception of her accomplishments was nevertheless compared to what her father might have done, had he not saved her. Logically, she understood that everyone would compare her to her father, to their ideas about her father, and that Alec Ryder would always come out on top. He was dead. He couldn’t fail because he had already done the most heroic thing possible: sacrificed himself for her. This knowledge, as both Lexi and SAM were explaining to her, didn’t mean that the judgment didn’t hurt. All of her shortcomings were logical, she was learning how to be a Pathfinder. However she was finally spending time with Jaal, alone, even the door to the techlab was closed. Sara decided to take advantage of the moment.

“Sara,” Jaal broke her from her reverie, and broached the looming topic, “Tann and Addison-”  
“I am so sorry, Jaal,” Sara interrupted him before rushing the rest of her thoughts out, “TheyweresorudetoyouandIcannotbelievehowTannquestionedyou! Addisonwassodisrespectfultoasktomeetyouandnotevenbotherwi-” Jaal placed his hand carefully and gently over her mouth and a look she’d never seen passed over his face.  
“Sara. They were much worse to you.” Jaal let the sentence hang there for a moment before continuing, “I already knew what to expect for myself, especially from a pair of such bureaucrats. But now I see why you were so...uncomfortable.”

Sara was simply looking at Jaal. Her hand was raised to her lips where his hand had been, an expression of awe and...something else on her face. Jaal looked back at her, savoring the look, even if he wasn’t sure what it said. His skin felt hypersensitive, his bioelectricity sparking invisibly under her gaze. Jaal took a deep breath, scanned Sara’s lush body, and turned back to his work. His cheeks were tinged a pale fuchsia as he fumbled with the tools before him. He wanted to explain everything to her, but the words were piling up, sticking to his tongue and teeth and blocking him from saying anything. So instead he tinkered with the gun, feeling her eyes on him, his hands, his head. Eventually she turned and began to work on her own gun. They fell into a quiet rhythm, neither one speaking much, just sitting, being near each other. 

Finally Sara couldn’t bear the silence anymore. She made an effort to ask him a question, starting off on the wrong foot:   
“I want to learn more about your species.” There, she thought, I didn’t sound like a complete idiot.  
“What would you like to know?”  
“Uh, well, how long have you had electromagnetic capabilities?” Sara answered, “How did they evolve?”  
“No idea. Biology doesn’t interest me.” Jaal picked up a tool, unsure where this was going, “But I’m sure you can easily read up on it.”  
“That’s disappointing. No biology at all?” Crap on a stick. This was not going well, Sara thought.  
“How do your eyeballs work?” Jaal didn’t usually use sarcasm, but the level of dismay in her voice that he didn’t know anything about his own biology angered him. It cut to the core of his own insecurity; unlike his incredibly accomplished siblings, he didn’t know which direction to take in his life.  
“An internal lens focuses an image onto the retina where it becomes electrical impulses that are deciphered by the brain.” Sara knew this one! Maybe this would help Jaal see that multiple interests could be-  
“You took my sarcasm as an invitation to show off. Pitiful.”

Sara sat there for a moment, unseeing, looking at nothing at all. Then, quietly, trying to disrupt him as little as possible, she gathered up her tools, placing them deliberately in their places, collected her gun, stood and left. Hot, angry tears stung at the back of Sara’s eyes. Leaving the techlab she ran smack into Liam, glancing at his face before fleeing to her room, SAM in her ears trying to make sense of the whole interaction.

Jaal looked after Sara with annoyance and hurt. Why, why did she have to be such a show off? It only served to show how childish and immature this alien was! Jaal felt that his emotions were ricocheting back and forth between liking this weird woman and feeling duped by her. Pushing aside the gun he was working on, Jaal rested his arms on his legs and stared at the floor. What had just happened?

“What just happened, Jaal?” Liam was leaning against the wall, looking confused.  
“I think…” Jaal stopped, unsure how to continue. “Why does Sara know so much about human biology? Did she study it specifically, before coming here?”  
“Huh? I don’t think she does?” Liam said, thoughtfully, “At least, she doesn’t have a degree or anything like that. She told me before that she enjoys research, learning for the sake of learning, so I guess any random information she can give is just from that. Why?”

Sara was in her quarters. She and SAM had a long conversation in which she detailed both her reaction to Jaal’s sarcasm and the two of them tried to puzzle out his angry response. Now she was sprawled on the couch reading an academic paper (on a datapad, of course) Lexi had found on the development and evolution of bioelectricity. There wasn’t much about the history, but how different angara could use and develop their abilities was incredibly interesting. She’d already learned about how the bioelectricity enhanced angaran awareness, as well as how different angara could use the bioelectric impulses in combat. The bioelectricity also was an important element of angaran communication, giving her insight about why she might have a problem talking with Jaal. And now, blushing, she was reading about how angara used bioelectricity in their sexual stimulation, aiding in both enjoyment and conception. There were links in the paper that offered further reading on the sexual enjoyment of angara. Opening the first link, Sara jumped when her door hissed open to reveal Liam. Dropping the datapad, Sara stood up. “Um...can I help you?”

Liam entered with a smile. “Yeah, actually, you can, Ryder.” Without giving too much detail, Liam outlined an idea he had for learning about angaran culture and helping Jaal understand them. Listening, Sara could see the benefit of their cultural exchange, whatever form it would take. Giving him the go-ahead, Sara smiled as Liam left to get started. Stretching, Sara picked up the datapad and put it near her bed, walking into the galley to boil water. Drumming her fingers on the counter, Sara turned at the sound of the door sliding open. Jaal came in, looking curious.

Jaal stared at Sara. He was struck again at how lovely she was. After talking to Liam, Jaal realized how stupid he had been. Sara hadn’t been showing off, but had simply been thinking that Jaal might want to know something new. It became clear to Jaal that he wanted to show Sara how much he cared. Entering the small kitchen, Jaal pulled down a cup and looked at Sara.

“So, Sara,” Jaal cleared his throat, “your tea, will you consider sharing some with me?”

“Of course, Jaal,” Sara smiled, placed her hand on his arm and moved closer to him. After reading about the way angara communicate, Sara decided to try to compensate through touch, at least with Jaal. It didn’t hurt that she wanted to touch him, just for the sake of it.

Jaal glanced at her hand, small, soft, and smiled down at her. Sara was trying something new, but as he watched her lean for a second mug, he knew that it was something good. Carefully, he began to ask her about other things Liam had mentioned that she knew about before landing on literature. Sara poured their tea and invited him into her quarters. Sitting adjacent to her, Jaal’s eyes roved her body. She was wearing a thin tee shirt and soft pants. As they spoke about archetypes and marvelled over the strange fact that even though they were from two separate galaxies their cultures had similar tropes and theories, Jaal found himself wishing that he could simply touch her. Her shirt looked soft and delicate, making him want to brush his fingertip across it, to see if the fabric was as soft as her skin or as sleek as her hair. That was another thing for the list: she seemed so soft, everywhere. There were no hard edges, just soft curves he could sink into. Hearing Sara chuckle, Jaal looked up at her, “What?”

Sara smiled a little half smile at him, “where did you go? You were here with me and then you were far away.”

“Oh?” Jaal stretched his hand out to ghost a touch over her arm, “Just thinking about Liam’s idea about a cultural exchange… did he mention it? This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about you… aliens.”


End file.
